April 19: GO!!!

Luke 15:1-10

Amplified Bible (AMP)

15 Now the tax collectors and [notorious and especially wicked] sinners were all coming near to [Jesus] to listen to Him.

2 And the Pharisees and the scribes kept muttering and indignantly complaining, saying, This man accepts and receives and welcomes [preeminently wicked] sinners and eats with them.

3 So He told them this parable:

4 What man of you, if he has a hundred sheep and should lose one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness (desert) and go after the one that is lost until he finds it?

5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his [own] shoulders, rejoicing.

6 And when he gets home, he summons together [his] friends and [his] neighbors, saying to them, Rejoice with me, because I have found my sheep which was lost.

7 Thus, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one [especially] wicked person who repents (changes his mind, abhorring his errors and misdeeds, and determines to enter upon a better course of life) than over ninety-nine righteous persons who have no need of repentance.

8 Or what woman, having ten [silver] drachmas [each one equal to a day’s wages], if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and look carefully and diligently until she finds it?

9 And when she has found it, she summons her [women] friends and neighbors, saying, Rejoice with me, for I have found the silver coin which I had lost.

10 Even so, I tell you, there is joy among and in the presence of the angels of God over one [especially] wicked person who repents (changes his mind for the better, heartily amending his ways, with abhorrence of his past sins).

How does God find these lost sheep? he uses you and I to find them. We must be very sensitive everywhere we go. Our spiritual eyes and ears must be wide open, tuned in to what is going on around us. I have become friends with several families who are addicted to drugs. I have fallen in love with them. We have eaten together, studied the word together, prayed together and cried together. God is finding them through my husband, Scott and I plus a team of friends who are working with us. We are taking the love of Jesus into a desperate community. Many in this community have lost all hope. It's so exciting to see hope spring up in their eyes. 

A church is being born in this community! 

"Jesus, Your word says the angels rejoice when one wicked person repents and makes up his mind to change his life! I want to go out and compel them to come to You!

Luke 14:23

King James Version (KJV)

23 And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.

compel means: 
force or oblige (someone) to do something.
"a sense of duty compelled Harry to answer her questions"
synonyms: force, pressure, press, push, urge;
dragoon, browbeat, bully, intimidate, strong-arm;
oblige, require, make;
informallean on, put the screws on
"he compelled them to leave their land"
exact, extort, demand, insist on, force, necessitate
"they can compel compliance"
bring about (something) by the use of force or pressure.
"they may compel a witness's attendance at court by issue of a summons")

I must be a pest! Your word is actually urging me to be a pest! Why would I cautiously and tentatively invite people to change their lives and step into freedom they never even knew existed! I must be annoying! I have heard of so many testimonies of people whose lives were changed when they came to church simply to get someone off their back. Help me Jesus to be politely and lovingly persistent! You don't let go! I must not let go! I claim these souls for You In Jesus' precious name, AMEN!!!"